There is a great variety of machines used as traditional blenders in the prior art to process blocks of frozen pulp, typically in 1 kg packages. The traditional process requires removing the pulp from the package and cutting a piece therein by hand. If too much pulp is cut, the juice is too sweet or concentrated; otherwise, the resulting juice is watery with a different flavor on a case-by-case basis. Subsequently, the pulp should be introduced into the blender jug and water should be poured into it. However, if too much water is added, the juice is watery; otherwise, the juice is too sweet or concentrated, also resulting in a different flavor on a case-by-case basis. A time interval is also required between turning the blender on and off. Thus, the blending time may be insufficient if the operator must also do other activities at the bar or working station. Once the blender is turned off, taking the jug off and pouring the juice into a cup is required. Finally, cleaning the jug and lid of the blender by hand is required. All these handlings require a time cycle that may take about 70 seconds.
This invention embodies a compact blender and a method to process juice in a simple way, using an individual package of frozen fruit pulp and drinking water as the basic ingredients. In this case, the process consists of taking the frozen pulp from the package and putting it into the blender. Due to its individual package, the juice is of consistent quality and does not depend on the operator's actions. The machine is equipped with just one operation button. By pushing said button, the blender automatically doses the required amount of water, operates at two speeds, and then automatically dispenses the juice into a cup. After this, the machine is automatically self-cleaned. The advantage of this is that the operator has enough time to do other activities at the bar or working area after pushing the start button, without being concerned about the juice-making process since the blender performs the rest of the process automatically. The process takes about 25 seconds, of which 18 seconds may be used by the operator for other activities. After filling the cup with the exact amount of juice, the blender cleans itself and is ready to prepare another cup of juice.
There is a great number of blenders with different qualities in the current state of the art. For example, patent document U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,030 (Herbert) dated Dec. 20, 1986 discloses a machine to prepare frozen drinks consisting of a dispenser that feeds directly into the blender. The ice dispenser and the blender are comprised in the same module. It has a timer operating together with the blender and the ice dispenser by the push of only one button. This allows dispensing the exact amount of ice and the time required for the process.
Also, document U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,691 (Reese et al.) dated Jun. 28, 1994 discloses a device to prepare blended drinks, in particular frozen drinks, that consists of an ice dispenser, a dispenser for the liquid mix, and a blender all combined in one single unit. It has a programmable timer that regulates the period of operating time for the ice dispenser, the dispenser of liquid mix, and the blender. The operation, thus, is limited to pushing buttons. The device automatically delivers a proper amount of ice and liquid to the blender to be mixed in the exact amount of time.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,777 (Ishizawa et al.) dated Dec. 28, 1971, discloses a cleaning method for tanks through a shower system. With this, the internal walls of a cylindrical container are cleaned with water, which is also discharged through a duct located at the bottom of the tank.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,494 (Pryor et al) dated Apr. 13, 1982 discloses a dispenser of liquid containing a blending system that mixes water with a powdered product (“powdered juice”) for a drink to be produced. It includes a blender for mixing. Water is automatically delivered to the mix. The mixed drink is delivered to the cup without the need of using a valve; the design and movement of the blade controls the outflow of drink. It also has a cleaning system between one process and the other to remove liquid waste.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,572 (Garmendia) dated Aug. 13, 1996, describes an automatic machine to prepare and dispense fruit juice and which consists of a modular, dismountable system with a compartmentalized cabinet-frame from which the following modules can be identified: one module for fruit storage; one feeding module that moves the pieces; one squeezing module with a motor unit; intermediate washing device; cutter; rotary dosing devices; squeezing unit; deposit for the juice with level gauge and overflow; one grinding module coupled to the squeezing module; one freezing module; one programmable control module; and possible deposits of water.
Document WO 93/09684 (Martens) dated May 27, 1993, discloses a method and a device to process a frozen paste of a drinkable product ready for processing, such as fruit juice or similar. Said paste is frozen-stored in a container. The method is characterized by the following steps: heating the container in all its sides during a preset time and separating the frozen paste from the container. The use of the device mechanically divides the frozen paste into smaller pieces, and heat is gradually supplied to the paste in a way that the maximum temperature of the liquid obtained may preferably raise by 2° C. and to a maximum of 5° C. This process ensures the quality of the product.
Document DE 3208569 (Granini GmbH) dated Sep. 22, 1983 discloses a dispensing device for fruit juice mainly consisting of a parallel tubed-shaped casing arranged in the upper part, a frozen compartment, and a supporting plate in the lower part designed to hold a drinking container. The frozen compartment is also equipped with a plastic bag packaged in a cardboard envelope with concentrated fruit juice. The plastic bag provides for a feeding tube that is guided by a constriction tube pump. There is a tube for fresh water connected to the dispensing device that can be connected to the drinking water service lines through one of its openings. The free end of the dosing tube is surrounded by a funnel in the form of a transparent screen. The tube for drinking water has a refrigerant agent with a shut-off valve that can be operated through the motor of the constriction tube pump. The operation of the shut-off valve and the motor of the constriction tube pump is programmed to release a fixed amount of fruit juice concentrate and drinking water respectively, that are then introduced in a container for drinking and mixed by the turbulence that is created at the same time.
Generally in the prior art the only alternative way to produce juice from pieces of frozen fruit pulp was by using a standard blender. In addition to being slower, as all processes are performed manually, the final result does not have a consistent quality. When an excess of water is added to the pulp, the juice is less distinctive in its flavor and more watery. When insufficient water is added to the pulp, the juice is too sweet and thick.
The aspects differentiating the machine of the present invention from the equipment already known in the prior art is that this machine performs specific operations to automatically prepare fruit juice by using capsules of frozen fruit pulp as the main ingredient.
Also, all documents of the prior art present complex solutions to the problem of dispensing an individual serving of juice. None of the documents previously described discloses a compact, simple machine that allows the following processes to be performed by pushing just one button: processing an individual package or capsule of frozen fruit, quickly producing a ready-to-serve cup of juice, wherein such a machine also has a self-cleaning mechanism that leaves the machine ready to be used again in just a few seconds.